Life & Work with Adrianna Novak of Holland Michigan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrianna Novak

Hi Adrianna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Back when I was in highschool, during my senior year I got my first “professional” camera. Although I didn’t know much about photography I enjoyed using it to capture special moments like my homecoming, prom, and graduation. After high school I didn’t do much with it other than take it on trips and vacations. During Covid like most, I was looking for something to do and thought hey, I should take and edit photos. What started out as doing photos for friends and family for free has now 5 years later turned into a little business I call Rouwhorst Photography (Rouwhorst being my maiden name). I have so enjoyed the growth of my little side gig and have loved seeing it develop into what it is today. Although I am not super well known I hope to see more growth in my business in the years to come. I started out taking mainly family and extended family photos all over the Holland and West Michigan area but have now started doing more weddings, which I have enjoyed so much. Although I am not a LLC yet, I am excited to expanded and step into that soon! I thrive off of the community of Holland and surrounding communities getting my name out there and passing my business along to their friends, family, and co-workers. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my clients and their help.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road to where I am now hasn’t been to rough. I have been blessed with a lot of supportive people in my community and in my family spreading my name around and allowing me to explore other options in the field as well. The photography community can be very cliquey. Working with other photographers can be tough, I have found a lot aren’t willing to give newbies a chance, but as I continue to grow I want to be able to help those photographers out and give them the chances that I have been given!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
The work I have been mainly known to do is Family Portraits. Which defiantly are some of my favorite to take. You need to have a lot of patience and understating when taking these. Husbands may not be super excited, kids may be upset, and moms are just trying to hold it all together. When taking these you need to have a lot of patience and take what you can get. I get a lot of referrals from previous clients about my patience and understanding and how well I work with their kids. I work with a lot of special needs adults and autistic kids as well so I have a lot of it to give, and I take pride it that. I think what sets me apart from other photographers in this particular field is my pricing is reasonable in today’s photography market. I understanding wanting to update photos of your kids, and your family and how Moms especially desire this. You shouldn’t have to set aside $500 to only get 5-10 images when it took you forever to dress up and get everyone out the door. I think it shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to capture special memories of your family that fleet so quickly! As long as I continue to be blessed, I will be a blessing to those around me. I understand that bills need to be paid, but for me I want to make sure you have those memories of you and your family, and they can be shared with everyone and framed in your house.

I have also slowly been getting into more solo photography of Weddings. Its very hard to get into Wedding photography and get your name out there and be trusted. Which I do understand, IT’S THE BIGGEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE, of course you want someone trustworthy. I have been blessed to do a handful of weddings on my own as well as second shooting for some other local photographers, which I am so thankful for. This is more of the route I want to take in the future, as I love all things weddings, and couples photography. But I will always be down for a family, senior, couple, newborn, or anything in between.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I would love to see my business grow in the next 5-10 years. I hope by that point I am averaging around 10 weddings a year, as well as continuing on in the family portraits, newborns, seniors, and everything else I do. I am married and my husband and I would love to start our own family here in the next couple years, and I of course want that to take up most of my time, but always keep doing photography in the mean time. I would love to get to the point of mentoring others, and being very involved in the community, and maybe evening opening my own studio as well down the road.

Pricing:

• Family Sessions Starting Rate $200
• Senior Session Starting Rate $250
• Wedding Packages Starting at $1,900
• Extended Family Packages Starting at $500
• Newborn Photos Starting Rate $200

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.adriannarouwhorstphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rouwhorst_photography/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adriannarphotos/